Thursday, January 29, 2009

someone's in the kitchen

a bit of history on theme thursday (tt) for those new to the mouse (with the b-o-n thingy, there have been plenty of new folks popping in for a nibble!). last spring a particular mouse and a squirrel got together and cooked up the idea of theme thursday. it wasn't long before mouse and squirrel's idea caught on with other friends in the cyberhood. tt was created to help prevent blogger burnout and at least once a week have a topic to post about - not to mention to have fun, be creative, and build community. anyone and everyone is welcome to play. if you have an idea for a tt, post a comment to mouse, squirrel, tut-tut, coffee, or megan - the official unofficial selection committee - ideas are posted on sunday for the upcoming week on most of these blogs (for all you curious cats, at the bottom of this post is a list of the themes we've done thus far).

We may live without poetry, music and art; We may live without conscience and live without heart; We may live without friends; we may live without books; But civilized man can not live without cooks.

Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton (1831-1891) British diplomat, viceroy of India and poet

If a pot is cooking, the friendship will stay warm.

Arab Proverb quotes

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.

Harriet van Horne (1920-1998) newspaper columnist

My kitchen is a mystical place, a kind of temple for me. It is a place where the surfaces seem to have significance, where the sounds and odors carry meaning that transfers from the past and bridges to the future.

Pearl Bailey (1918-1990) singer and actress

notes on photos:1. canning equipment, hancock shaker village, massachusetts. june 2007 (and a note on the quote - it is a line is from one of my favorite reads of last year. if you are searching for a good read you can't go wrong with michaelchabon, who incidentally is not on this list!)2. kevin's collection of skillets. fort worth, texas3. julia child's kitchen as recreated on the lower level of the national museum of american history. I went to see julia's child last week - the exhibit was the inspiration for this week's tt as was julia's philosophy of cooking succinctly put is: "Above all have a good time." washington, dc4. my mom rita and her friend helen in rita's kitchen. sometime in the late 1950s, san diego, california. (photo snapped by my dad) info updated 1.305. a group cook at ali's 50th birthday extravaganza. dungeness, washington6. my late aunt eleanore, a great artist in the kitchen. (photo courtsey of my late uncle joe who was the love of el's life and pretty good in the kitchen also -not to mention he also built the kitchen for he was a carpenter and a cabinet maker!) mcadoo, pennsylvania7. kay's dream kitchen, storrs, connecticut.

mack the knife performed by pearl bailey and dinah shore around 1960 - kick back and enjoy yourself!

Great photos for the day. Do so love looking at dream kitchens. My family could untidy that one in 50 seconds. Well, the dog in 5, but he's a pro.Thanks for the flashback to Pearlie Mae and Dinah...very witty:>). I wondered when they would start laughing?! Be hard to keep a straight face with the two of them.

Fantastic photo essay.... really memorable. I was gratified to receive the "Premio Dardos" award from Jacqueline T Lynch of "Another Old Movie Blog" earlier today, & as part of that, I was asked to choose 5 blogs that should have the award passed to them. Although I haven't been following mouse medicine for a long time, I've been consistently impressed by the work, & would like to pass this on to you. You can pick up the award jpeg from today's post on Robert Frost's Banjo. Here's the whole scoop:

"The Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web."

The rules:“1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.2) Pass the award to another five blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgement, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.”

Very cool as always and maybe one more person could squeeze into that one kitchen.Glad you explained it. That's why I left the previous post up on mine so long. Figured as long as the larger audience was still around, but not too large, at least on my little blog ; )

I can relate to the messages and pictures posted. I love to cook. As I often tell my children, good food does not only come out with complete ingredients . . . one has to be in the mood and in love with the partakers of the meal served.

dd - since kevin lives in a house of one I think the pans are more an artistic display and celebration to cast iron, than functional objects - but they work for me!

cathy - thanks! julia child is such an inspiration. that was the first time I was able to see the it since it was installed in washington.

rlb - you won't find me messing with any bunny killers!

revjr - thanks for playing along!

avid - like his kitchen, kevin's has soul too!

distracted - I can't grok those kitchens where there is nothing on the counters there's not a crumb to be found. well, it's nice not to find crumbs, but you know what I mean....

I am - from the picture of your chilis I know you are a good cook - but what one needs more than anything is time to cook....

dennis - you would like those ladies too!

megan - how was the mysteries of pittsburgh (or whatever that title is)? I think that's the next chabon book I want to read. k&c and the yiddish policemen union were fantastic and the only two I've read (so far) - I adored both

roy- it's great to see the tt circle grow. your kitchen pics are wonderful. hope everyone will pop over to roy's world and check them out!

marianne - it's funny - I found no matter how small my kitchens have been that it is still true - and I've had some really small kitchens.

john - I am very honored by the dardos award.... thank you so much, I will try and continue to further the values it celebrates. in the days to come I will put up a post identifying another group of five.....may the circle grow and be unbroken....

coffee - the group cook in picture with all the people was one of the most exciting cooking experiences I ever had.... the kitchen was huge and easily accommodated the group - at one time there may have been ten or twelve people 'working' the kitchen

reya - thanks..... your comment reminded me I have this great photo of a bunch of meat grinders that a cuz collects....funny what we collect....

espan - thanks for dropping by. no truer words are written... and they remind me of that most delicious novel 'like water for chocolate'....

I used to think the bedroom was the most important room in the house. Now, the bedroom is still way up there (for obvious reasons), but the kitchen is at least just as important. Thanks for sharing those photos.

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unless noted otherwise, all photos on the mouse are taken by me, kim yanoshik. you are welcome to use them if credit is given. if you seek to make a profit, you need to first ask permission to use the photo; then you are obliged to share that profit with yours truly, otherwise karma will catch up with you!